From luxury to sports and SPA (manufacturing and retail integrated), more fashion brands are opening food and beverage (F&B) outlets in offline spaces. The range of food runs from cafes to bakeries to dining.
This is a strategy to turn stores that simply displayed clothes and shoes into consumer experience-centered spaces and increase brand touchpoints. Analysts say the idea is to draw in customers with F&B, which is less of a price burden than relatively expensive apparel, and then expand their experience into fashion later.
According to the retail industry on the 12th, French luxury brand Louis Vuitton will unveil an experiential store, "Louis Vuitton Visionary Seoul," at Shinsegae Department Store's Seoul main branch on the 29th. Louis Vuitton plans to create across six floors a cultural experience space, "Visionary Seoul," a coffee shop, "Le Café Louis Vuitton," a chocolate shop, "Le Chocolat Maxim Frédéric at Louis Vuitton," and a restaurant, "JP at Louis Vuitton."
Earlier, in September, Louis Vuitton also opened its first cafe in Korea at the "Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul" flagship store in Cheongdam-dong. Although it is called a cafe, it also sells a variety of dishes. Signature items include "Yuzu Caesar Salad Eclipse," a Caesar salad with yuzu dressing, and "Beef Mandoo," a reinterpretation of traditional dumplings filled with beef and served with a soy sauce and sesame oil broth. Louis Vuitton is showcasing its brand identity by incorporating its signature "LV" pattern into the tableware and desserts used here.
Italian luxury brand Gucci is also operating the Italian contemporary restaurant "Gucci Osteria Seoul" on the fifth floor of its Cheongdam-dong flagship store in Seoul. The Seoul location is the fourth Gucci Osteria in the world and sells a tasting course based on Italian cuisine as well as various à la carte items.
Hermes also operates "Cafe Madang" in Sinsa-dong, Seoul, selling sandwiches and spaghetti along with various drinks. The tableware used in the store is also by Hermes. Dior is also operating "Cafe Dior" at two locations, in Cheongdam-dong and Seongsu-dong in Seoul.
Not only luxury labels but also sports, casual, and SPA brands are actively introducing F&B outlets. Adidas opened "CAFE 3STRIPES SEOUL" in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, on the 25th of last month. At this location, Adidas sells about 50 types of bakery items and cafe drinks while hosting exhibitions by various artists and weekend music performances. True to the name "Three Stripes (three lines)," the store's interior and food incorporate designs using Adidas's "three-stripe logo."
Spain's SPA fashion brand Zara also installed its in-house cafe brand "Zacaffe" when it renovated the Myeongdong store in May. It is Zara's first F&B outlet in Korea, following Madrid in Spain and Nanjing in China. Inspired by the Korean traditional "stone wall," the space realizes an urban feel through gray-toned interiors. Signature menu items with Korean elements include "sujeonggwa latte" and "green tea latte."
U.S. fashion corporations Ralph Lauren opened its in-house brand cafe "Ralph's Coffee Seoul" on the first floor of its Garosu-gil store in Sinsa-dong in September last year. Infused with the brand's signature American sensibility in the interiors, Ralph Lauren sells not only various teas and drinks but also apparel and accessories such as tote bags, caps, and mugs. Ralph Lauren plans to open a second Ralph's Coffee next year at COEX Parnas Mall in Seoul.
Among domestic fashion brands, Musinsa transferred its headquarters to Seongsu-dong in 2022 and opened the cafe "ASNISUM" on the first floor of the building. Named by spelling "Musinsa" backward, the cafe was created as a complex cultural space in collaboration with local Seongsu-dong F&B brands. Musinsa is actively using the space to expand customer touchpoints by regularly operating pop-up stores (temporary shops) for various fashion brands available on Musinsa.
A retail industry official said, "Fashion is typically a purpose-driven purchase made as needed, whereas F&B has a strong everyday and repetitive consumption character," and added, "F&B outlets run by fashion brands have strong promotional and traffic-drawing effects through social networking services (SNS), and they can also help visitors who come to the store naturally browse products and make a purchase."